Mother sentenced to prison for burning her 5-year-old daughter

PEORIA — A Peoria Heights woman was sentenced to 7½ years in prison Wednesday for throwing boiling water on her 5-year-old daughter last month.

Tiffany Fortune, 33, of 3535 N. Illinois Ave. pled guilty to aggravated battery and had faced up to 30 years behind bars if she had gone to trial. A lesser count of aggravated domestic battery was dropped as part of the plea.

Prosecutors have said the child’s injuries were “gruesome” and represented “over the top” behavior. The child suffered second- and third-degree burns on her face, shoulders and back. The child was flown to a burn unit in Springfield after the incident. The condition of the girl wasn’t immediately known Thursday.

Fortune initially said she was cooking food and that the child pulled a pot of boiling water down from the stove onto her. Later, she confessed to throwing the water on the child, saying she was frustrated with her, prosecutors have said.